The Hamptons, highlighted (center) on South Fork of Long Island, an island 118 miles (190 km) long

The Hamptons, also called the "East End" (of Long Island), are a group of villages and hamlets in the towns of Southampton and East Hampton, which form the South Fork of Long Island, New York, U.S. The Hamptons form a popular seaside resort, one of the historical summer colonies of the American Northeast. The area features some of the most expensive and luxurious residential properties in the U.S.; in 2016, according to Business Insider, the 11962 ZIP code encompassing Sagaponack, within Southampton, was listed as the most expensive in the U.S., with a median home sale price of $8.5 million.[1]

The Hamptons are home to many communities. Historically, it has been devoted to agriculture and fishing. Many farms are still in operation in the area. There are three commercial vineyards operating in the Hamptons as well.

Given the area's geographic location, it maintained stronger commercial and social links to New England and the nearby states of Connecticut and Rhode Island. Many of the original settlers were from and most of the trade links were with communities in Connecticut. Indeed, much of the older architecture and aesthetics of the villages in the Hamptons resemble New England. This is especially true for Sag Harbor Village and East Hampton Village.

Once direct rail links to New York City were established, the community of summer vacation residents expanded significantly. The Village of Southampton, which is the oldest of the Hamptons and the most westward of the villages, grew rapidly. It remains the largest, most diverse and arguably the most affluent of the Hamptons' towns. The other villages and hamlets grew more somewhat slowly over time. The agriculture community became supplemented by artisans and professionals (mainly in Southampton Village and Sag Harbor Village), and then by a large influx of artists. As a result, the arts community in the Hamptons has deep roots extending back to the nineteenth century.[2][3] The Art Village in Southampton and the community of Springs in East Hampton town hosted a number of resident artists and art schools (e.g., the Shinnecock Hills Summer School founded by William Merritt Chase).

More prominently, the entire Hamptons region increasingly became a haven for affluent summer season vacationers. Southampton Village, which hosted the earliest summer community of socially prominent residents and was arguably the center for upper class Americans, served as home to members of the Ford, Du Pont, Morgan, Atterbury, Woolworth and Eisenhower families. Other affluent communities developed over time in East Hampton Village, Wainscott (particularly in its Georgica Association) and in Bridgehampton.

Sag Harbor Village became noted for its community of affluent African American residents who settled a number of bay front communities on the eastern side of the Village. These neighborhoods include Azurest, Sag Harbor Hills, Nineveh Beach, Eastville and Hillcrest Terrace. Current and former residents include a long list of the notable and affluent African Americans - Colson Whitehead; Earl Graves and Susan L. Taylor, who blazed trails in publishing with Black Enterprise and Essence magazines, respectively; American Express executive Kenneth Chenault; and General Colin Powell, who spent summers there as a youth.[4]

Today, the Hamptons' residents include many of New York City's most affluent residents, as well as a number of affluent people from other nearby states,[citation needed] executives, and increasingly, foreigners from Europe and South America.[citation needed]

The villages and the hamlets are distinguished by their significant population increases during the summers, although the The Hamptons have increasingly become a year round destinations for New Yorkers seeking a refuge on weekends.

Residential real estate prices in the Hamptons rank among the highest in the nation,[5] and, as of 2015, the real estate market was very strong with prices rising for both home buyers and sellers and rentals. Historically, real estate south of Route 27 ("south of the highway"), the main transportation artery in the Hamptons, was more highly valued. Land south of Route 27 is closer to the ocean, and the road served as a marker for social standing and land valuation. The most expensive neighborhoods lie south of the highway, and most of all in the so-called Estate Areas of Southampton Village, Water Mill, Bridgehampton, Sagaponack and East Hampton Village.[6] Notable streets include Ox Pasture Road, Halsey Neck Lane, Coopers Neck Lane and First Neck Lane in Southampton Village and Lee Avenue and West End Road in East Hampton Village. In particular, oceanfront property commands a high premium over other real estate. The oceanfront streets in Southampton Village (Gin Lane and Meadow Lane) and East Hampton Village (Lily Pond Lane and Further Lane) rank among the most expensive roads in the country.[7] Meadow Lane has actually been called Billionaires Row, and cited as having among the highest home values in the country.[8][9]

Lavish parties are commonly seen in the Hamptons. Particularly attractive were modest homes within walking distance of village centers.[10]

The Hamptons' history as a fashionable summer resort and dwelling place of high society date from the late nineteenth century when the community changed from a farming community with good potato ground to a popular destination. In 1893 The New York Times, based on its natural advantages and the quality of the Summer Colony located there, compared The Hamptons favorably with the Garden of Eden:

“

The beautiful villages clustering around old Southampton, including Quohue, Good Ground, the rest of the Hamptons, and the incomparable Shinnecock Hills combine to make as close an approach to Eden as can be found in a long journey. Exclusive—in the best sense of the word—society is here represented during the summer by its choicest spirits. Well-bred men and women find a congenial atmosphere, refined attractions in plenty, and innumerable charms about these quaint old villages.[16]

”

As of 2015 commercial and residential development and the crush of summer and weekend visitors had reached crisis proportions.[17]

In Seinfeld, an episode from Season 5 featured Jerry Seinfeld, Elaine Benes, George Costanza, and Cosmo Kramer visiting the Hamptons where various antics occur (including the appearance of an ugly baby, Kramer illegally obtaining lobsters from cages, and George getting caught naked and being a victim of "shrinkage"). In a season 9 episode, George has an "imaginary place in the Hamptons" that he takes the parents of his deceased fiancee Susan to in an impromptu game of "chicken".

The series Royal Pains takes place in the Hamptons, although most of the series is filmed in surrounding towns and portions of Long Island.

The series Revenge takes place in the Hamptons, though it is primarily filmed in North Carolina and Los Angeles.

In addition to this, Gossip Girl was set in The Hamptons during the first two episodes of season 2, while the cast were away from New York City for summer vacation.

The series Castle has taken place in The Hamptons on three occasions, first was in the show's fifth season. The second was at the end of the show's sixth season. The third and most recent trip to The Hamptons for the show was in the show's seventh season.

Much of the final season of the series How I Met Your Mother takes place in a fictional hamlet in the Hamptons called "Farhampton".

On the Showtime cable network show Billions, the lead character, a hedge fund billionaire, purchases a large oceanfront home on Meadow Lane, in Southampton (costing over $60 million) and bringing more negative attention to the lavish lifestyle he lives.

On the Showtime cable network series The Affair, the lead characters Alison Lockhart (née Bailey) and Noah Solloway meet in Montauk, where much of the series takes place. Alison is a Montauk native.

^ abKen Johnson (August 6, 2015). "Elaine de Kooning and Andreas Gursky in Close-Up in the Hamptons". The New York Times. Retrieved August 7, 2015. Decades before the East End in Long Island became a crowded mecca for summertime vacationers, the Hamptons and their neighboring villages were quiet, rural getaways for artists, from the American Impressionists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries to the Pop artists of the ’60s

^"SOUTHAMPTON'S BEAUTIES.; A Charming Region at Its Best in the Summer Months.". The New York Times. May 27, 1893. Retrieved August 9, 2015. The beautiful villages clustering around old Southampton, including Quohue, Good Ground, the rest of the Hamptons, and the incomparable Shinnecock HIlls combine to make as close an approach to Eden as can be found in a long journey. Exclusive—in the best sense of the word—society is here represented during the summer by its choicest spirits. Well-bred men and women find a congenial atmosphere, refined attractions in plenty, and innumerable charms about these quaint old villages.

^Jim Rutenberg (August 28, 2015). "The Battle for the Soul of the Hamptons". The New York Times. Retrieved August 30, 2015. ...a new horde of speculators (moguls, nightclub impresarios and their yearly multiplying conspicuous consumers) drives and flies ever eastward from Manhattan toward that beguiling jewel of Long Island, the Hamptons.